Hi Mal and the group, yes there are some quite enormous traffic lists being
sent on 500 and other nearby calling frequencies. Do you EVER hear any
traffic being transacted down there ?? I would certianly be interested if
anyone does hear traffic to know the details. It is believed that these
traffic list transmissions are a "political" ploy by the shore-station
operators of some
countries who object to the downgrading of their jobs (and presumably the
loss
of status and pay) The local container port, which is supposed to be the 2nd
largest in Europe now, no longer has any ships calling which carry qualifed
radio ops.
The frequencies are still valid but I would be surprised if any ships where
still fitted with a capability, except in certain limited areas like the far
east and some parts of South America
There are however several Navtex frequencies, 518kHz being one, which some
administartions are understandably sensitive about. I beliebe these are
liable to be the biggest stumbling-block.
Cheers de Alan G3NYK
[email protected]
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